The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Chapter 504 Large-scale Air Combat

"Boom~~"

Two F-14 'Bearcat' fighter jets were hit by missiles and exploded.

A huge fireball shone in the sky, even more brilliant than the sun.

After the launch, they immediately moved and then camouflaged themselves.

Then, the missiles were installed.

Installing missiles is a very strenuous job!

It took some effort to install the four 'Aegis-0' air defense missiles.

After all, a single 'Aegis-0' air defense missile weighs 76 kilograms, and it takes two people to lift and install it.

"Chen Hai, what are you writing?" Lin Jianguo asked curiously.

Chen Hai said in a deep voice: "I have to write it down. We can't be complacent after the battle. If these two F-14 'Panda' fighters sink the missile boats, stay alert and leave directly. It will not be easy for us to shoot them down!"

The F-14 'Bearcat' fighter is a supersonic multi-purpose carrier-based fighter of the United States. This carrier-based fighter was developed by Grumman based on the Navy's fleet air defense and escort requirements from the 20s to the 70s. It mainly performs fleet defense, interception, strike and reconnaissance tasks.

The aircraft began development at the end of 1967, the prototype made its first flight at the end of 1970, and was delivered for use in May 1972.

It can be said that this is a very excellent carrier-based fighter.

But even the United States feels the pressure because the aircraft is too expensive.

In recent years, as the US dollar has continued to depreciate, the purchase price of this aircraft has also continued to soar.

F-14‘熊猫’战斗机1979年的价格是1960万美元，到了1983年价格已经飙升到了3327万美元，至于今年F-14‘熊猫’战斗机的价格已经涨到了令人瞠目结舌的4400万美元。

In addition to the fact that the performance of this fighter jet is indeed excellent, which causes the price of the aircraft to continue to rise, there is another important reason, which is the depreciation of the US dollar!
It is precisely because the F-14 'Panda' fighter is too expensive that the US military had to request the development of a cheaper carrier-based fighter, so the F/A-18 'Hornet' carrier-based fighter was created. The price of this aircraft is less than 2000 million US dollars, which is much lower than the F-14 'Panda' fighter.

"You are indeed a top student, you are so serious!" Lin Jianguo gave Chen Hai a thumbs up.

Lin Jianguo only went to junior high school, and then joined the army. When the army was streamlined, he was discharged and then joined the Panshan Machinery Factory. He was not satisfied with the quiet life and the considerable remuneration, so he chose to go to an overseas security company.

This time, Lin Jianguo came to Libya.

But Chen Hai is different. He is a college student, and from a military academy. He was assigned to Panshan Group and the combined brigade before he graduated from college. Later, he even operated the 'Aegis-0' air defense missile system.

In the south, Chen Hai and his comrades had made great military achievements. This time, they also received a mission, took off their military uniforms, and arrived in Libya urgently.

This situation is happening constantly.

A-6 and A-7 attack aircraft were constantly shot down, and some F-14 "Panda" fighters and F/A-18 fighters were also shot down by air defense missiles, but the number was much smaller.

With the arrival of the Libyan Air Force, the two sides launched the largest air battle since World War II.

It turns out that the MiG-14 and MiG-18 fighters are inferior to the F-23 'Panda' and F/A-25 'Hornet' fighters.

The MiG-23 fighter is a variable-sweep wing multi-purpose supersonic fighter developed by the Soviet Mikoyan-Grevich Aircraft Design Bureau in the 60s. It was the main equipment of the Soviet National Air Defense Force in the 70s. The aircraft has a maximum range of 2900 kilometers, a combat radius of 1160 kilometers, a bomb load of 2 tons, a maximum low-altitude speed of 1.14 Mach, and a maximum high-altitude speed of 2.35 Mach. It has a 23mm twin-barreled cannon under the fuselage, 2 medium-range P-23 air-to-air missiles, and 4 short-range P-60 air-to-air missiles. The MiG-25 fighter is a high-altitude, high-speed interceptor fighter developed by the Soviet Mikoyan Design Bureau in the late 60s. It is the world's first fighter with a maximum flight speed of more than Mach 3. Since it was equipped with troops in 1969, it has broken many world records in high-altitude and high-speed performance!

Although the MiG-25 has been discontinued, it does not prevent it from being an excellent fighter.

But they all have a problem, that is, they belong to the second generation of aircraft. Of course, if they are measured according to Soviet standards, they belong to the third generation of aircraft.

In terms of avionics systems, both aircraft are far inferior.

Not to mention, this was not an aircraft used by the Soviet Union itself. It was exported to Libya and is most likely a monkey version.

As a result, it is no match for the F-14 'Bearcat' and F/A-18 fighters.

Coupled with the technical gap among pilots, the gap in combat effectiveness becomes even more obvious.

Even with the help of anti-aircraft missiles, the Libyan Air Force's MiG-23 and MiG-25 fighter jets were constantly shot down.

The battle was over, and the F-14 'Panda' fighters, F/A-18 'Hornet' fighters, A-6 and A-7 attack aircraft returned to the aircraft carrier to replenish ammunition and fuel.

The Libyan pilots were so mad with rage that they would never let the enemy plane leave like that, so they drove their fighter jets after it.

As a result, without the help of anti-aircraft missiles, the US military's air defense firepower was activated.

One after another, MiG-23 and MiG-25 fighters were shot down, either exploding in the air and turning into fireballs, or plummeting into the sea with thick smoke.

"Damn, these rookies are so stupid!" At this time, the Soviet military observation group was furious and cursed loudly.

They just couldn't understand why, after so many years of training, the Libyan air force pilots were still so incompetent.

If it were a Soviet pilot, even if he drank two bottles of Volga, he would not have ended up like this.

"The Libyan Air Force is finished. At least half of its aircraft were lost in this battle!" The deputy head of the military observation group made a calm judgment. "Now it depends on whether the US military aircraft will have the courage to take off and fight again after losing so many aircraft. Once the US military aircraft take off and fight again, I am afraid that the Libyan Air Force will not be able to resist!"

Prior to this, Libya had 513 combat aircraft, including a large number of MiG-23 and MiG-25 fighters.

But now, except for some MiG-25 and MiG-23 fighters, all others have been shot down.

Although the Soviet military observation group has more than a thousand people, they will not directly participate in the war in order to avoid a direct war between the two sides.

To be honest, they are not optimistic about the current situation of the Libyan Air Force.

If Libya loses air superiority, it will be disastrous.

"China's air defense missiles are really powerful and have strong anti-interference capabilities. If it weren't for China's air defense missile system, it would be difficult to shoot down a few planes with just the SAM air defense missiles." The head of the military observation group, Valeri, said, "Now it depends on how many of these air defense missiles the Libyans have."

"Now we will report the situation to the country!" said Valeri.

The US military is now suffering a great loss, and the war has broken out. As America's mortal enemy, the Soviet Union is naturally very happy about this, and it is necessary for it to take some actions to support Libya.

And see if we can give a warning to Gaddafi, who has been somewhat dishonest in the past few years, to prevent him from being indecisive every other day.

(End of this chapter)